The Rule Book

I'm sure this picture was taken just a few weeks ago. I'm sure that this little girl is only about 5 years old and is sweet and funny and just wants to pal around with me all day long making crafts and painting pictures. Where have the last 10 years gone? How is it that now dear Hubby and I have to come up with some kind of rule system regarding how much time she is spending with senior boys and where she is and isn't allowed to go with her best friend who just got her driver's license? She can't hang out with boys who look like this! No way! Look at her. She's just too little. Too young. Too ... my little girl. You know it's funny, when my kids were younger and I was single, I sat them down one day and we had a long talk about how each child is different and none of them come with their own instruction manual. I wanted them to realize that just as I was figuring out all the in's and out's of whatever stage they were in at the moment ... that in almost that same moment they were moving on to a new, unexplored stage and I had to start the figuring all over again. Sometimes it feels like parenting is just that - writing the rule book over and over again. I just love the fact that Hubby and I are always on the same page, so much that I can actually phrase questions to him like, "How do we feel about this?" without us both cracking up.

For the moment, we're trying to be reasonable and responsible. I think that's fair to all the kids. What are the hardest things for you to make clear-cut rules about?